Hylia's Beginning
by DashingHeights
Summary: With Demise's downfall and the return of the Goddess statue, Skyloft and the broken land below continue to heal. However, to bring a true new age, they need a little help in familiar form: descended from the goddesses Din and Nayru. This story is a collaboration between FlowerCrown-Man-Princess and myself.


Whispy clouds floated across the empty sky. Dawn was just about to break. Markei loved watching it. He and his adoptive daughter use to wake up early and eat breakfast on the spot he stood now while they waited. Now, however, she was older, and she needed the extra sleep. She had been so exhausted as of late that it was hard to imagine her as the tireless baby girl she use to be. As the sun pushed out of it's shell of a horizon, he glanced back at the academy, half hoping to see her running to catch it. He was shocked that she truly was. In barefeet, not even out of her pajamas, Taryn scurried quickly to his side. "Bet you thought I'd miss this, huh?" she spoke through gasps, attempting to catch her breath. Her hair was a wreck, falling out of its lazy bind and sticking up at random angles. The top was fuzzy, an obvious sign of being slept in. Still, she was grinning as her eyes filled with awe for the golden spectacle before her.

Since the new age began, more and more people were colonizing the surface world below them. Taryn had never been there herself, but she'd heard stories from some of the senior knights of the academy. The thick cloud barrier separating Skyloft from beneath was ever so slowly dissipating, revealing more and more of the provinces of the broken land. She dreamed of these places more vividly than she'd ever admit. It was almost as if she'd been there before or felt their essence for herself. They felt familiar, yet to her eyes they were very alien. Or maybe it was just her imagination.

It was strange to hear so much movement outside in the halls, especially so early in the morning. At least, for the young man desperately trying to cling to sleep it was early. Far too early. Eventually he sighed and gave up on clinging to the remaining fragments of his dream, sitting up in his bed and rubbing his eyes tiredly. He so longed to simply lie in bed all day, as the lazy teen did most of the time, though he knew that he had to finally become a productive member of society, and flung his blanket to the side, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed.

Barefoot, Rydan made his way over to the wardrobe resting in the corner, and threw the doors open, grabbing the first thing he saw and pulling it on. He simply ran his fingers through his short auburn hair as a way of brushing it, and headed for the door, adjusting the dark bandages that covered his right eye. He had made that mistake before, and nearly scared another student half to death with the scars that had rendered his right eye blind, the Viridian orb now blank and unseeing.

As The young man made his way through the halls, he nearly glared at everyone as he passed, though he reigned in his unmerciful irritation for the moment, until he found someone he could release it on without repercussions. He made his way outside, blinking against the bright sunlight. He inhaled a large breath of the fresh air, feeling a slight, almost smug smile coming to his lips. Now that he was truly awake, and out in the open where he felt truly at place, he had no reason to bother playing the part of this cranky jerk it seemed everyone believed he was.

Markei turned at the sound of an opening door. He hadn't realized how quiet Taryn had been about approaching until the boy stepped out of the building. She seemed not to notice, or was ignoring it, with her chin turned up and eyes closed, arms held wide to embrace the daylight. Markei gave a little smile before leaving her be to greet the new gentleman. As headmaster of the academy he was responsible for every student, but he liked to know them all personally, too. He never missed an enrollment. "Good morning, Rydan," he addressed him with a curt nod, hands held behind his back, "How did you sleep?"

Rydan looked up, his good eye blinking in surprise as he was addressed. "Oh, good morning," he said quickly, his head bowing a bit in respect. He shrugged his shoulders in response to the question, looking out at the stretch of open sky. "Rather well, surprisingly. I'm used to nightmares," he paused, a small smile settling on his lips before he quickly looked over, "I mean, not that they bother me much!" he insisted, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck, "Er… how about you?" the young man offered in reply, not entirely sure how to talk to the adult. They had never really spoken before; in fact, Rydan hadn't spoken to many people there.

Markei opened his mouth to answer when there came a screech from on high. A great, white bird was streaking down over the rooftop, narrowly missing their heads as he dove. On strong wings he landed beautifully next to Taryn, who was grinning from ear to ear at his approach. The creature nuzzled her lovingly, emitting a sound like that of a purr and shuffling his scaly feet. His wings were tipped with black and blue, the same hugh as his blunt talons and tail fur, and his eyes glowed amber in black-lined sockets.

Taryn walked around him to join Rydan and her father, brushing the bushy tail of the large beast in admiration. There were few things in the world that she loved more than her guardian. This was apparent to most everybody, as they were hardly separable. Only in places where the bird couldn't fit did they part.

Rydan's eyes widened as the animal approached, and out of instinct he ducked, a movement long-since ingrained into muscle memory from his own accident. Though he soon let out an amused laugh, looking over to the others and resting his hands on his hips. "Huh, so it's yours then? I was beginning to wonder whose Loftwing it was that kept circling. I thought I was going to get attacked, or even that there would be some huge fight," the teen chuckled to himself slightly, as if he thought it was some joke, even after his minor scare.

The young man had no clue where his own Loftwing was, though he assumed that when he called, the bird would come running, or whatever the word would be for birds. Taryn grinned smugly at him, brushing her fingers through her matted hair and breathing out a long sigh. "Bazden's ninety-five percent harmless," she began, looking over her shoulder at the white beast, "He only eats my enemies." Bazden cawed in acknowledgement, as if he could understand what was said, and Markei rolled his eyes up at the brightening blue. An amused smile played across his mouth.

The teen raised an eyebrow slightly. "Oh really now?" the corner of his lips twitched upwards into a small smirk, "I'll have to keep that in mind, and try to stay off your bad sad. Wouldn't want Jex needing to clean his talons." Rydan chuckled, a challenge clearly issued by his words. Taryn tilted her head, "Jex?" she inquired, completely ignoring the brash jab. She knew better than to make unnecessary rivals. "I'm guessing that's your guardian," she stated bluntly, putting her hand up to Bazden's beak as he lingered over her shoulder. He was eyeing Rydan cautiously, obviously aware of the threat that bad been in his voice.

Rydan nodded, a small smile coming to his lips at the mention of the bird. "Yeah. He is," he answered, looking off towards the vast blue stretch of sky, "A little short-tempered, but he knows when to back down." The lean teen chuckled slightly, half-tempted to call for his Loftwing. It had been a while since he had seen his dark companion, and was a bit worried for him. He looked back over to the other teen, shrugging his shoulders a bit.

"He is very independant though, which I guess isn't new to the people around me. They are used to my behavior, after all, and Jex just seems to copy that."

"They're very smart creatures, you know. They may not understand our words, but they can sense our feelings," Taryn nodded as she spoke. She'd spent several hours a day studying loftwings. She felt the most at home around them, like she was meant to be in the air. "How good are you at flying?" she asked, turning to mount Bazden, who knelt down on one knee for her. Her tone was playful, challenging, and giddy. Not many students shared her love for it, and no one who knew her wanted anything to do with her guardian. Not when it came to flying. He may not have been too fast but he was more agile than anything they had ever seen.

"The best," Ryden smirked, letting out a loud, low whistle. There was a loud screech in return, and a few moments later a dark flash darted up from below them. The loftwing hovered above them for a moment, it's large wings flapping to keep it suspended, before Jex landed next to Rydan, his powerful appearance seeming much more gentle around the young man. It nudged Rydan's hand slightly, and the Auburn-haired teen climbed up onto his back, shooting Taryn a challenging grin.

Markei had all but been forgotten, it seemed, as he slowly retreated into the school and let them get on with their banter. Taryn stroked the back of her hand down Bazden's neck and clicked her tongue. He shook out his wide wingspan before giving a small hop and spiralling off the side of the floating island with his wings held close to him.

Rydan laughed, following suit. He glanced over at the other teen, then pressed closer to Jex, the bird letting out a screech as it pushed itself forward, then tucked its wings close to its body, building up speed on a plummet straight down. Taryn was falling behind.

Bazden was not as fast as Jex was, but he made up for it by changing course on a dime. His wings shot out with spring-loaded accuracy at just the right angle of his dive to send him darting west. He skirted effortlessly around floating rocks and other riders getting their morning routine in as he went, eyes narrowed against the wind.

Rydan looked up, his eyes widening in slight surprise. "Come on Jex, we can't let some girl beat us," he encouraged, feeling the bird's wings snap open and darting forward to catch up. Rydan kept himself pressed to the bird's back, knowing it would help them move faster. Taryn was just enjoying herself, laughing as she pressed her face into the soft downy fluff between Bazden's shoulder blades. That was, perhaps, what was keeping her ahead of Rydan and Jex; just that she was simply having fun and not competing.

Rydan huffed slightly, leaning back and letting Jex go at his own pace. He smirked slightly, releasing the tufts of fur he had used to hold onto, spreading his arms out and letting out a loud whoop, feeling the adrenaline rushing through his veins at the danger he was putting himself in, rather stupidly, when he couldn't see out of his right eye.

Bazden cried loudly and flicked his tail as he dove under the island of Skyloft. He was so close to the bottom that Taryn could feel small twigs and flecks of dirt brush into her hair, but she urged him on anyway. It was always enjoyable to let new faces know just how strong the bond between the guardian and the guarded was.

Jex dove down slightly, sending Rydan reeling to grab back onto the Loftwing's fur. he cursed under his breath, closing his eyes tightly, his good one at least. He could have sworn he heard a small chirp from the bird, almost as if it were laughing at him. "Damn bird," he muttered, hiding his face in the soft fur. Taryn looked back at Rydan and Jex from under her arm, smiling and steering Bazden out from under the rock. She sat up as he slowed down for them, feeling lightly along his left wing.

Rydan slowly pulled his face from the bird's fur, looking up at Taryn. He realized she had slowed down for him, and had most likely seen his moment of terror. His face flushed slightly and he looked away, trying to act like it had never happened. This brought a bout of laughter from Taryn, and Bazden seemed to join her with small chirps. "Do you want to see something really scary?" Taryn teased, getting her feet under her so she was now crouching on the back of her bird. She stood slowly and began to tip.

In one swift movement, just before she fell off, Bazden twirled and caught her by the ankles. She stuck her tongue out at Rydan and Jex, trying not to giggle as she crossed her arms over her chest. The blood was already rushing towards her head, which turned her face and pointy ears a light shade of crimson.

Rydan's face flushed a slightly darker shade of red, and he shrugged, gesturing towards the bandages. "Yeah, well sorry. I only saw half of that trick," he gave a small smirk, internally wincing at his own joke. Taryn chuckled and gently grabbed the fur on the side of Bazden's neck, tugging for him to bend his knee up so she could climb back on. "Not everything is about sight, you know," they pulled back to glide along side them, "feeling is better."

"I'm sure," the teen replied, laughing rather immaturely. He slowly loosened his hold on Jex's fur, still seeming wary of the bird's intentions, and whether he was going to randomly get thrown off like he almost was moments before. "Though you're good at flying," he admitted grudgingly, almost grumbling the words.

Taryn smiled kindly and nodded in acceptance of his compliment, "thank you."


End file.
